Gramona Gran Cuvee 2009

Gran Cuvee is Gramona's entry-level cuvee, representing a spectacular value in sparkling wine. Greenish-yellow in color with lemon reflections. The nose is a fine fusion of citric white fruits, pear, and apple; with toasted hints of bread crust making it rather complex. The mouth has toasted and fruity hints with creamy, fresh acidity, and a touch of liquor—a characteristic of the house.

50% Xarel-lo, 30% Chardonnay, 20% Macabeo. Gramona's history is long and storied with the property being a quality reference point in the Penedes for decades. As far back as 1816 a member of the family has been making wine in the vicinity of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. Gramona name began to be put on bottles of "Cava Champagne" in 1921. Today the house is one of the few remaining family-owned estates in the region, most having been hoovered up by large companies in the last half century. At Gramona time is never an issue. The wines receive perhaps the longest average aging than any other cava and are never released until they are perfectly mature. Eighty-six percent of the cavas produced in the zone are released after nime months while at Gramona cavas are aged a minimum of 30 months, and in the case of Enoteca, 12 years! Long considered a pioneer for their work in the cellar they have begun to convert to organic and biodynamic farming in addition reducing their carbon footprint by using geothermic energy and recycling all the water used at the estate.